The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1887-01-01
CARE OF THE COLT.
How the Development of It's Muscles and
Strength Is Facilitated.

HOW the Development of It's Muscles and !
Strength is Facilitated.
Horses are kind of livestock which !
are left largely to take care of them
selves in a certain sense. We busy
ourselves about our cattle, sheep and
swine. How shall we feed-what shall
we do to make the calf, the lamb and
pig more valuable, we ask time and
time again. But the colt comes, grows
and reaches maturity, under about the
same treatment that has been common
for hundreds of years. True enough,
the system of management that is gen.
orally adopted is not bad one. At all
events it answers. But that is not
quite enough in these days when we
wish to produce perfection as nearly as
possible. Are our horses as good as
they might be if the growing animals
We're fed at all times upon q strictly
scientific basis? None of us will give
an affirmative answer to the question
If we properly understand the effect of
feeding. The horse is valuable in
proportion to the development of its
muscle. A weak horse is very poor
property-a strong horse is good prop
erty. Consequently, the food given
the colt and young horse-and, in fact,
the mature horse-needs to be largely
of the muScle-formlng character. Their
food does not need, and must not con-
tain, so large proportion of the car
bonaceous elements as do those which
are fed to producing animals. In
the latter case a conspicuous part of
the object in feeding is fat, while in
the former case we want to produce
only u moderate amount of fat and
great deal of muscle. Very often the
horse is fed entirely toomuch corn As a
portion of the horses food, and even
of the colts, corn is good, but to feed
colt too much of this specially fat
producing food is ruinous. And in
order to keep the matter steadily be-
fore the reader, we again call the at
tention in this connection to the neces-
sity of keeping the muscular and bony
systems up in all animals and at all
times. This applies even to fattening
animals.
Now, when the colt is getting its
food from the dam, it is getting the
following elements, which is the COM
position of mares milk; Casein, 3. 40
per cent. butter, $50; milk sugar,
1852; ash, SO, and water, 9005 per
cent. In mares milk the dry matter,
that is, food, is about 10 per cent
995 per cent, to be exact-and some
thing more than one-third of this is
casein. The milk of the mother of the
colt, therefore, furnishes one part of
muscle-fOrming food to two parts of
the carbonaceous elements. With this
lesson of nature before us we make q
mistake when we feed too largely a
food which contains so large proper
ton of starch as corn, barley, etc. If the
dam gives sufficient milk, the colt will
need nothing else for six months. But
if the mare should give an insufficient
quantity, it must be supplemented with
something else, for we think it must be
stated as a fact whether it is always
observable or not, that a colt that
is insullicently nourished during
the first six months of its life never
RECEIVERS what it thus loses. It's slowness
of growth, under such circumstances
is not the worst of it. Its digestion
becomes weakened. The stomach O.
the young animal, unless extended by
sufficient quantity of food, becomes
contracted, and so when it is weaneC
it does not hold enough to furnish thu
system with what it needs. Youn!
animals, it must be remembered, can
not grow on nothing. 1t is their fooC
that gives them growth, and the NOR
~ God they utilize the more rapid will
DE their growth.
If the dam, after generous feedin!
to that end, does not give enough mil
to satisfy the colt, the ratio should b
increased by giving cows milk, whic
is nearly the same in composition a
that of the mare. We advise givin
fresh milk first, under. such circum
stances, but skim-milk may soon b
given, and that contains precisely tn
elements which the growing syster
most stands in need of. Two quart
a day, given in the morning and &
night, is about the proper amount TO
a colt two months old. Some sweete
it little, and it is a good plan, a
though but very little sugar should b
added. The colt may be allowed t
eat oats as soon as it will, and as SEQ
as it IS weaned we would give it
little linseed meal with oats, and thu
teach it to eat. Linseed meal is exec
lent food for a colt One breedC
writes that he gives to colt eigl
months old a half-pint of tlaXsee
boiled in four quarts of water, an
then two quarts of bran or oat-me;
boiled with it, fed twice day in equ;
parts. Practical Farmer.
Farmer Hillman, of Sharon, Ga